Shared mechanisms of auditory and non-auditory vocal learning in the songbird brain

Abstract Songbirds and humans share the ability to adaptively modify their vocalizations based on sensory feedback. Prior studies have focused primarily on the role that auditory feedback plays in shaping vocal output throughout life. In contrast, it is unclear whether and how non-auditory information drives vocal plasticity. Here, we first used a reinforcement learning paradigm to establish that non-auditory feedback can drive vocal learning in adult songbirds. We then assessed the role of a songbird basal ganglia-thalamocortical pathway critical to auditory vocal learning in this novel form of vocal plasticity. We found that both this circuit and its dopaminergic inputs are necessary for non-auditory vocal learning, demonstrating that this pathway is not specialized exclusively for auditory-driven vocal learning. The ability of this circuit to use both auditory and non-auditory information to guide vocal learning may reflect a general principle for the neural systems that support vocal plasticity across species.